Exploring the Value of Technology to Stimulate Interprofessional Discussion and Education: A Needs Assessment of Emergency Medicine Professionals

Background

The emergency department (ED) is an environment fraught with increasing patient volumes, competing priorities, fluctuating information, and ad hoc interprofessional clinical teams. Limited time is available to reflect on and discuss clinical experiences, policies, or research with others on the involved team. Online resources, such as webcasts and blogs, offer an accessible platform for emergency shift workers to engage in interprofessional discussion and education.

Objective

Our objective was to explore the current opportunities for shared learning and discussion and to discover the potential of online resources to foster and facilitate interprofessional education within an academic tertiary emergency department community.

Methods

A qualitative study using semistructured interviews was conducted to solicit participants’ views of the current culture of IPE in the ED, the potential value of introducing new online resources and technology in support of IPE, and possible barriers to uptake. Participation was voluntary and participants provided verbal informed consent.

Results

Online resources discussed included webcasts, interactive discussion forums, websites, and dashboard with links to central repositories. Identified barriers to uptake of new online resources were an unwillingness to “work” off-shift, a dislike of static one-directional communication, concerns with confidentiality, and the suggestion that new resources would be used by only a select few.

Conclusions

Owing to the sensitive dynamics of emergency medicine—and the preference among its professional staff to foster interprofessional discussion and education through personal engagement, in an unhurried, non-stressful environment—introducing and investing in online resources should be undertaken with caution.